The Great Lakes hold one–fifth of the world’s fresh water and Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan and Lake Superior waters are critical for those who live along them and for the state’s economy, environment and quality of life. The DNR’s Office of the Great Lakes is charged with implementing a comprehensive program to protect the lakes, identify problems and solutions and serve as a contact point for the Great Lakes community in Wisconsin.

Lake Michigan and the rivers that feed it have been Milwaukee’s dominant natural resources since the days of the Potawatomi. Join historian John Gurda for a lively, illustrated look at the lake and its adjacent waterways. See how they served the community and how they have weathered a cycle of heavy use to emerge as focal points of both concern and celebration in the twenty–first century.

Invasive Phragmites has damaged coastal wetlands, Great Lakes dunes, and beaches along the shores of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. In 2010, the U.S. EPA awarded the DNR over $800,000 in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds to control Phragmites along the shores of six counties. After 3 years of treatment we have seen a 90 percent kill rate in treated areas. A special thanks to our partners and all 1,800 private landowners who participated in this important project.